CIA – a Failed Agency

Bin Laden roamed Pakistan for 9 years, his widow says

01.04.2012

Osama bin Laden spent nine years as a fugitive in Pakistan, hopscotching among safe houses in big cities and small towns with his growing family before U.S. forces killed him in his final hideout, according to an account one of his widows has given to investigators.

A newly surfaced confidential police report summarizing the testimony of bin Laden’s youngest wife, who was taken into custody after his death, has renewed debate over how the world’s most notorious terrorist could have eluded detection by Pakistan’s powerful security services.

“Who facilitated his movement and his stops, and were they ordinary citizens or members of law enforcement or intelligence agencies?” asked an editorial Friday in the English-language newspaper Dawn, which broke the story here.

The report is based on the interrogation of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, a Yemeni national and the last of bin Laden’s five wives — three of whom were living with the al-Qaeda chief at the time of the raid on his villa in the garrison town of Abbottabad last May.

The women, who could be jailed for up to five years, face charges of illegally entering Pakistan. They, their children and bin Laden’s grandchildren are among those now confined to a home in Islamabad provided by the government, officials have said.

Sadah, who bore bin Laden five children and was shot in the leg during the Navy SEALS operation, has been the most cooperative of the widows, according to a security official familiar with the investigation. The others — Saudi nationals Siham Saber and Khairiah Sabar — said Islam does not permit women to talk to non-related men, the official said.

Since bin Laden’s death, the military establishment — especially the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI — has faced accusations it was aware of bin Laden’s presence. But nothing proving its complicity has emerged in documents seized from the compound and analyzed by U.S. intelligence officials.

Sadah’s narrative, if accurate, reveals the extent of bin Laden’s travels in Pakistan before his six-year-long stay in Abbottabad. She said that starting in 2002, she lived with him in the country’s northwest, including in the Swat Valley and Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She said they also lived for more than two years in a village in the Haripur district, 20 miles from Abbottabad.

Sadah bore bin Laden children in 2003 and 2004, both delivered in government hospitals in Haripur, she told the investigators. She later gave birth to two other children, evidently at private hospitals in Abbottabad. (Her eldest child was born in Afghanistan, where she had married bin Laden before Sept. 11, 2011.)

Retired Brig. Gen. Asad Munir, a former ISI official who was involved in tracking bin Laden after 9/11 until 2005, questioned at least one part of Sadah’s account.

“I knew that Osama bin Laden was in the tribal areas in 2002 somewhere, but not in Peshawar,” he said.

Asked why the ISI didn’t find bin Laden during six years in Abbottabad, Munir offered an explanation heard often from those who doubt complicity by the state.

“Sheer negligence and incompetence,” he said.

A senior U.S. official familiar with the 10-year hunt for bin Laden called the widow’s account “very plausible” and “consistent with the previously held theories on where bin Laden may have been hiding during those years.”

The police report, dated Jan. 19, was prepared as part of a joint probe by civilian and military authorities into the raid on bin Laden’s compound, which blindsided and humiliated the Pakistani military.

The document, however, appears to be ancillary to the focus of the investigation, which has confined itself to intelligence failures connected to the May 2 operation. Critics of the probe say it should have been expanded to include the entire period bin Laden was in Pakistan.

“We need an absolutely complete review of what happened, why it happened, and when it happened,” said Shaukat Qadir, a retired brigadier general who conducted his own investigation into bin Laden’s death and also had access to the interrogations of the youngest wife. “We need to know.”

Libya in Turmoil: At least 16 dead in tribal clashes

01.04.2012

At least 16 people were killed on Saturday in new clashes between the Toubou people and Arab tribesmen in the southern Libyan desert oasis of Sabha, local and medical sources told AFP.

A doctor at Sabha hospital, treating Arab casualties, said eight people were killed and another 50 wounded in fighting between the early morning and noon. A Toubou tribal source said eight of their people were also killed.

“We haven’t slept since yesterday. The Toubou have been attacking Sabha since three in the morning, and they very nearly took the city. Al the residents have taken up arms to defend it,” Dr Abdelrahman al-Arish told AFP.

Adem al-Tebbawi, a local Toubou official, spoke of eight dead and “several wounded” on his side.

“We have respected a truce and we want reconciliation, but the other tribes – especially the Awled Suleiman – have not stopped attacking us for several days. We have been deprived of both water and power.”

On Friday, Toubou chief Issa Abdel Majid Mansur, a former opposition activist against the ousted regime of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi, called for international intervention to halt what he called “ethnic cleansing.”

“We demand that the United Nations and European Union intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing of the Toubou,” Mansur said.

The fighting first erupted on Monday after Arab tribesmen accused the Toubou of killing one of their people. The first three days of clashes cost more than 70 lives, Libyan government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa said on Wednesday.

At least another 24 people have been killed since then.

The Toubou say they are defending themselves against attack by Arab tribesmen in the region, and have accused the Libyan authorities of backing those gunmen as part of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing.”

The Toubou are black oasis farmers by tradition who also have connections beyond Libya’s borders. They live in southern Libya, northern Chad and in Niger, and have previously denied having separatist ambitions.

The Toubou have also been involved in deadly clashes with another tribe in the Saharan oasis of Kufra, where ethnic groups are locked in a standoff over smuggling.

Aung San Suu Kyi poised to win as Myanmar votes Historic Election today

01.04.2012

Myanmar holds crucial by-elections on Sunday that are expected to see Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the fight for democracy under the former junta, entering Parliament for the first time and could lead to an easing of sanctions by the West.

The United States and European Union have hinted economic sanctions, imposed years ago in response to human rights abuses, could be lifted if the election is free and fair, which could unleash a wave of investment in the impoverished but resource-rich country bordering India and China.

Suu Kyi is awaiting a new dawn for her country. Sunday's by-elections are Myanmar's third parliamentary elections in 50 years, the first that the Nobel laureate is contesting and every indication is that her party the National League for Democracy (NLD) would win.

The poll by Mizzima News predicts that about 30-35 of the 45 seats up for elections will go to Suu Kyi's party. It's an indicator that a shift in power is coming with full general elections due in 2015.

Despite the Euphoria, many including Aung San Suu Kyi have warned that poll irregularities could still give Myanmar's political reforms a setback.

To counter the fears, the Election Commission has invited in international observers and hundreds of journalists while lifting the restrictions on their movements.

Maung Maung Than, election official, said, "We're preparing the election on April 1 to be free and fair. We'll make it free and fair, I believe this."

In a country that has been ruled by a repressive regime for half a century, believing in this election is still a leap of faith. The only thing Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters believe in they say, is her.

A civilian government took office a year ago after almost five decades of military rule and has surprised the world with the speed at which it has implemented political and economic reforms, including freeing hundreds of political prisoners.

To be regarded as credible, the vote needs the blessing of 66-year-old Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was herself freed from house arrest in November 2010, just after the general election that led to the civilian government the following March.

That election was widely seen as rigged to favour the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the biggest in parliament, and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) boycotted the vote.

Suu Kyi appears to have taken a gamble after the reforms pushed through by President Thein Sein, who was himself a general in the former junta. She has called him "honest" and "sincere" and accepted his appeal for the NLD to take part.

Her party is competing for 44 of the 45 by-election seats, but has complained of irregularities that could undermine the vote.

"What has been happening in this country is really beyond what is acceptable for a democratic election. Still, we are determined to go forward because we think that is what our people want," a frail but defiant Suu Kyi told reporters outside her lakeside house in Yangon on Friday.

She has accused rivals of vandalizing election posters, padding electoral registers and "many, many cases of intimidation", including two attempts to injure candidates with catapulted projectiles.

Suu Kyi is running in the constituency of Kawhmu, south of Yangon. She planned to tour polling stations there early on Sunday.

It was not clear when the results would be announced.

Clashes between Yemeni army, Al-Qaeda kills 30

01.04.2012

Al Qaeda-linked militants on Saturday staged a surprise attack on a Yemeni army base in the south, setting off clashes that left 30 dead on both sides before air strikes forced the militants to retreat, military officials said.
The attack reflects how al Qaeda's branch in Yemen has exploited the political and security turmoil following the country's yearlong uprising, managing to take control of large swaths of land in the south and staging increasingly bold attacks on the military.
The militants have overran cities and towns as the government focused its efforts on protecting the regime in the capital during protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh's replacement, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has made fighting al Qaeda one of his top priorities, but many Yemenis accuse the ousted president, whose loyalists are still influential in the military and in government bodies, of undercutting security operations and the new president's authority.
In today's clashes, army officials said the militants attacked the base in al-Mallah town in southern Lahj province. The town is close to Abyan province, an al Qaeda stronghold. The army fought back and by the time fighter jets were called in and forced the militants to retreat, 17 soldiers and 13 militants were dead.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Al-Mallah is adjacent to Abyan province, an al Qaeda stronghold.
The latest clashes come as Washington appears to be increasingly involved in fighting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni branch is known and which is believed to have plotted two failed attacks on American soil.

France Investigate "USD 192 million" Corruption claims in Malaysia submarines sale

01.04.2012

Paris: French judges are investigating corruption allegations in connection with the sale of three submarines to Malaysia, sources close to the investigation said on Saturday.

The probe relates to commissions paid on the sidelines of a billion-euro deal 10 years ago for the sale by the French naval armaments firm Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) -- in association with the French electronics company Thales and the Spanish naval constructor Navantia (formerly Izar) -- of two new and one second-hand submarine to Malaysia.

The judges are looking into at least three separate commission payments, worth a total of more than 144 million euros (USD 192 million).
Some 114 million euros were paid by Armaris, a DCN and Thales subsidiary, to the Malaysian firm Perimekar, controlled by associates of Prime Minister Najib Razak. Razak, at the time, was the defence minister in charge of negotiating the deal.

The Malaysian government has said the payment was for a six-year contract to provide services.

Another payment of 30 million euros made in August 2000 by DCNI, a subsidiary of DCN, and by Thales International Asia (Thint Asia) is also under review.
The third contract under review is one for consulting services signed in October 2000 between Thint Asia and the Malaysian firm Terasasi, one of whose main share-holders is a relative of Razak.
The current probe was launched following a complaint made in March 2010 by the Malaysian Suaram anti-corruption association.

Bombs in southern Thailand kill 14, wound 341

01.04.2012

Suspected Muslim insurgents staged the most deadly coordinated attacks in years in Thailand's restive south, killing 14 people and wounding 340 with car bombs that targeted on Saturday shoppers and a high-rise hotel frequented by foreign tourists.

A first batch of explosives planted inside a parked pickup truck ripped through an area of restaurants and shops in a busy area of Yala city, a main commercial hub of Thailand's restive southern provinces, said district police chief Col. Kritsada Kaewchandee.

About 20 minutes later, just as onlookers gathered at the blast site, a second car bomb exploded, causing the majority of casualties. Eleven people were killed and 110 wounded by the blasts.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Thailand's three southernmost provinces - Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala - since an Islamist insurgency flared in January 2004.

"This is the worst attack in the past few years," said Col. Pramote Promin, deputy spokesman of a regional security agency. "The suspected insurgents were targeting people's lives. They (chose) a bustling commercial area, so they wanted to harm people."

Most attacks are small-scale bombings or drive-by shootings that target soldiers, police and symbols of authority, but suspected insurgents have also staged large attacks in commercial areas.

India testfires supersonic Cruise Missile

31.03.2012

India Friday testfired its second supersonic BrahMos cruise missile in two days off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha, sources said.

"The missile, with certain new systems, was testfired at 10:00 am from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the Odisha coast, two days after a similar testfiring was carried out," the sources said.

BrahMos is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation. The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0, and is about three- and-a-half times faster than America's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile.

BrahMos, which can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land, is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 200 to 300 kg.

BrahMos is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

Malaysia Election monitors urge poll postponement

31.03.2012

Malaysian election monitors Friday urged the government to put off polls until it can clean up the electoral roll, problems with which have led to a public "crisis of confidence".
Prime Minister Najib Razak is widely expected to seek a fresh mandate within months though polls are only due by April next year.
Calls for electoral reforms have been growing. Tens of thousands took to the streets in a rally last July organised by pressure group Bersih, which recently said they would stage a fresh protest unless their demands were met.
K. Shan, chairman of the independent election monitor National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI), said the government must implement reforms fully before the election, including allowing court challenges to the voter roll, which critics say is riddled with irregularities.
"The problem with the electoral roll... has translated into a crisis of confidence and perception in terms of the election processes," Shan told reporters. "They (the government) should postpone the election."
Independent polling agent Merdeka Centre also published findings from a survey last year that showed voters could not be located for 69 per cent out of 1,200 randomly selected registrations.
Of another 1,200 people surveyed, six per cent said they had registered but could no longer find their entry in the voter roll.
The Election Commission, in charge of conducting polls, has said it is cleaning up the roll. It has also reportedly fired hundreds of staff for registering voters twice, adding non-citizens and other "negligence".
Shan said commission officials did not require proof of address when registering voters and so politicians were registering supporters in their areas, hoping to secure victory.
Opposition election workers and independent vote-reform advocates say a rash of such irregularities, unequal access to media and other problems could tip the balance in what analysts say will be a closely fought contest.
A bi-partisan parliament panel set up to address these issues is due to publish its reform recommendations on Monday after a six-month study.
Najib established the panel in response to the July rally for electoral reforms, which police crushed with tear gas, water cannon and mass arrests.
The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which has governed the country since 1957, got its worst drubbing in the last elections in 2008 amid complaints of corruption, high-handedness, inflation and racial discrimination.

China Fashion Week: Eve's Temptation Lingerie Collection

31.03.2012

Models presents a creation from EVE'S Temptation Lingerie Collection 2012 during China Fashion Week in Beijing, China, Friday, March 30, 2012.

Malaysian Police “Took Everything “ cries Indonesians

30.03.2012

At least 173 Indonesian workers, consisting of 104 men and 69 women, along with six children, have been deported from Malaysia for various legal violations, an official says.

The workers will be temporarily sheltered in Tanjung Pinang, Riau.

"We will provide temporary shelter before sending them to their villages of origin," troubled migrant worker chief Juramadi Esram said in Tanjung Pinang on Friday.

Juramadi said that the workers failed to show valid documents to work in Malaysia and most of them had entered Malaysia on tourist passports.

One of the workers, Ari, said that they were treated roughly during their detention in Malaysian prisons, and that their belongings were seized by the Malaysian authorities.

"Nothing's left but the clothes on our backs. Everything has been taken away by the Malaysian police," Ari said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Some workers also reportedly were caned as punishment for their legal violations.

"I had just been in Malaysia for two days when the police arrested me. They took my passport and destroyed it, and punished me with two rounds of canning," said Jemi of Medan, North Sumatra.

"**Explosive News**" India’s Army Unfit to fight a war: Indian Army Chief

30.03.2012

India’s tanks do not have enough shells to fire, its air defenses are obsolete and its ill-equipped infantry can’t fight at night, the country’s army chief told the prime minister in a letter this month, an Indian newpaper reported Wednesday.

Excerpts from the letter from army chief V.K. Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were published in the Mumbai-based newspaper Daily News & Analysis. The revelations prompted condemnation of both the government and the army among lawmakers, who demanded the army chief’s immediate dismissal over the letter’s publication and other incidents and accused the government of neglecting national security.

An embarrassed A.K. Antony, India’s defense minister, confirmed to Parliament on Wednesday that V.K. Singh had sent the letter and pledged to “protect every inch of our motherland” by speeding up steps to modernize the country’s million-man army.

Amid tensions with neighboring China and Pakistan, India has shopped aggressively for weapons in recent years in an effort to transform what has long been a corrupt and bureaucratic force into a lean, lethal army fit for 21st-century warfare. A Swedish research group said this month that between 2007 and 2011, the country had emerged as the world’s largest weapons importer.

In his letter, however, Singh said the army’s major combat weapons are in an “alarming” state, alleging that its tank fleet is “devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks” and that India’s air defenses are “97 percent obsolete.”

There was no immediate response from the prime minister’s office.

In October, the weekly magazine India Today ran a story titled “Not Ready for War,” which argued that years of neglect had rendered the army unfit to fight a war.

Antony’s criticism was not directed at Singh for sending the letter but focused instead on its publication. “By the very nature of these issues, they cannot be a matter of public debate,” he said, adding, “I have made serious note of the observations.”

Retired Gen. Ved Prakash Malik, who headed the Indian army in a limited border war with Pakistan in 1999, concurred with that view Wednesday. “Every army in the world faces shortages,” he said, “but how did a classified letter of this kind come into the public domain?”

Malik also declined to take issue with the letter’s allegations. “There is no doubt that our weapons procurement procedures in the civil and military bureaucracy are very, very slow, and it does affect decision-making,” he said. “Corrective steps must be taken immediately, especially because of the kind of environment India lives in today.”

Earlier this year, V.K. Singh claimed that he had one more year of tenure and urged the Supreme Court to change his recorded date of birth. The court warned that it could rule against him, and Singh withdrew his case. On Monday, Singh told the Hindu newspaper in an interview that he had been offered a bribe of almost $3 million a year ago by a retired army officer to approve the purchase of trucks from a particular company. Singh said he refused the bribe and reported the incident to the defense minister.

Laloo Prasad Yadav, a lawmaker, told reporters that Singh was “depressed” and “frustrated” and that his actions had hurt the army and the country.

The army chief is scheduled to retire in May.

President Assad wants foreign powers to stop backing rebels

30.03.2012

President Bashar al Assad said on Thursday Syria would spare no effort to ensure the success of international envoy Kofi Annan's peace mission but warned it would not work without securing an end to foreign funding and arming of rebels opposing him.

Assad is under international pressure to call his troops and tanks back to their bases, a year into a popular revolt against his rule. Fighting between troops and rebels killed at least 22 more people on Thursday, six of them soldiers.

The state news agency SANA quoted Assad, in a letter to the leaders of the BRIC economic powers, which include his key ally Russia, as saying "countries which support the armed groups with money and weapons must be persuaded to stop this immediately".

Saudi Arabia Seek to Funnel Arms to Syria Rebels

30.03.2012

Saudi Arabia has pressed Jordan to open its border with Syria to allow weapons to reach rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime, officials from both countries say, a move that could buoy Syria's opposition and harden the conflict in the country and across the region.

In a March 12 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah asked his Jordanian counterpart to permit weapons shipments into Syria in exchange for economic assistance to Jordan, these officials say. Jordan hasn't yet agreed, they said.

The U.S. has opposed furnishing arms to the rebels, fearing that weapons could end up in the hands of al Qaeda or other extremist groups. But late Thursday, a top U.S. defense official suggested such a policy could potentially shift. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Syrian opposition appeared to be taking steps to unite as a group, a development he said could help clear the way for international aid including arms.

Such international support, he said, may hinge on assurances from a "coherent, credible" opposition that it would form an inclusive government and not fan sectarian flames. But some fear arming the opposition could escalate prospects for a broader regional conflict. Syria's fighting has already added to the rancor between Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies, who support the country's largely Sunni opposition, and Shiite Iran, whose government backs Mr. Assad.

Saudi Arabia has argued strongly for weapons supplies to Syrian rebels despite U.S. concerns. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was traveling Thursday to Saudi Arabia to meet with the king and other senior Saudi officials, was expected to raise any Saudi plans to arm the Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said. The officials said the Obama administration remains opposed to introducing more arms into the conflict.

PM Najib’s Grand Plan Under Scrutiny

30.03.2012

The first report card on Malaysia’s ambitious program to kickstart its economy will be out next week, and the government hopes it will blunt criticisms that the plan is no more than a series of government-funded mega projects.
The report card is produced by the same people who are running the program, and is likely to be glowing.
The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) was unveiled in October 2010 and is one of the most important policies of the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak. He is banking on it to turn around the economy and deliver political support for the ruling Barisan Nasional.
Political analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan, from the libertarian think-tank Ideas, noted that Datuk Seri Najib forged ahead without buy-in from his Umno party.
“It is, thus, important for him to get it right,” he said.
The economy has become one of the most pressing political issues in recent years as wages stagnate due to the country’s over-reliance on low-cost labor.
The ETP aims to double per capita income to RM48,000 ($15,620) by 2020, with growth driven by the private sector. But some economists have questioned the numbers behind the ETP.
While some projects under the ETP may be a catalyst for higher-value development, many more are actually old projects announced years ago, noted Azrul Azwar, chief economist at Bank Islam. “It is hard to see how these old projects can suddenly become transformational,” he said. The bulk of the investments are from the government or government-linked corporations, which are often not market-driven.
But it is a detailed report by a think-tank, called Research for Social Advancement (Refsa), that has poked the most holes in the ETP’s projections. The projections were drafted by the government’s high-level Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).
“The ETP is just business-as-usual, dressed up in fancy presentations and long press releases,” said Teh Chi-Chang, an economic analyst who is executive director of Refsa and co-author of the six-part critique. The first part was released in mid-January and the final part earlier this month.

Pemandu has sought to rebut the criticism in its blog but has indicated that it will let its report card do the talking.
Pemandu chief executive Idris Jala, a respected corporate leader who joined the government to spearhead the program, told the state news agency Bernama recently that the ETP has surpassed most of its first-year targets, including the creation of more than 500,000 jobs and a gross national income of almost RM850 billion.
But, Teh said, shorn of the glitter, the ETP is still about government-driven mega projects that benefit well-connected businessmen, and does little to address income inequality.
“Even if Pemandu achieves all that it sets out to do, the Malaysian economy will be unbalanced and not sustainable. The ETP is not going to build a middle class that will keep Malaysia going,” he said.
The critique noted that the bulk of the investments still came from the government, and were focused in the oil and gas sector.
It said two government projects — the Mass Rail Transit in Kuala Lumpur and Petronas’ petrochemical refinery in Johor — account for a whopping 55 percent of the total investments of RM176 billion in the first year. More than half of the investments pledged are in oil and gas.
In addition, it pointed out that in the first year, the government and government-linked corporations had invested RM114 billion, almost double the RM62 billion pledged by the private sector. The private sector share is just 35 percent, instead of 60 percent as targeted.
Refsa also argued that while national income will go up, only 21 percent will go to wage-earners — which is lower than the current 28 percent. The rest of it will go to corporations. Income inequality will only grow, it added.
Pemandu denied some of these criticisms through its blog, saying that while the private sector involvement may appear low, its data merely represents a ‘snapshot of progress’ and does not cover the entire range of investments.
It said overall private investment had risen by 19.4 percent from 2010 to RM94 billion last year.
Pemandu also said contrary to Refsa’s claims, its own estimates show that 45 per cent of the workforce will take home 51.1 percent of the total wages by 2020, making a significant redistribution of income. “The ETP Roadmap, as we have always maintained, is a kickstart and it will evolve as we build out the program,” it said.

Who wins the war of words is important, with elections looming.
Wan Saiful believed that the ETP is a vote-getter, especially in the rural areas where many people view it as a government programme to improve their lives.
“Generally, the ETP is being taken positively,” he said

Myanmar vows fair by-elections

30.03.2012

The Myanmar government has promised that the by-elections on Sunday would be free, fair and transparent.
It said international media and observers would be allowed to move freely around the country to witness the polls.
Still, observers remain cautiously optimistic, concerned that election officials on the ground may not be ready for closer international scrutiny.
Hundreds of observers and journalists on Thursday converged at Myanmar's Foreign Ministry to attend a briefing on Sunday's by-elections.
At the same time, they got assurances they would not be impeded from their duties, as in the 2010 election.
The Myanmar government dismissed suggestions that international pressure had brought about this change.
Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said: "I think there's no pressure on the government to invite this kind of observers because this is the decision of our government, to allow observers to observe by themselves, that the by-elections will be held in a very transparent, free and fair manner."
Close to 200 international observers are currently in Myanmar, including those from ASEAN countries.
They welcome the positive signal given by the central government, but many fear officials at polling centres might not be ready for more transparency.
Yangon British Embassy deputy head of mission Jeremy Hodges said: "We are looking forward to this opportunity to attend, and to see the conduct of the election.
"And on the day, it will be just as important for us to be able to witness and to able to hear about the interest of the people and the parties at each of the polling stations wherever they might be."
Twenty-five-year-old Myanmar national Khine Mon Che will be covering her country's by-elections as a journalist.
Having voted for the first time last year, Khine said there is now less control over the media on the election coverage.
Khine, a TV Journalist with Skynet Up-To-Date, said: "Now I can report on everything. I can now [participate in] your interview freely. So I'm satisfied."
There are more than 8,000 polling centres across Myanmar.
The government has promised that international media and observers are free to choose which centre they want to visit.

Burmese Polls Set to Sweep Suu Kyi Into Parliament

30.03.2012

More than two decades after its stolen election win, Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party is set for a dramatic political comeback in Burmese polls which could herald an easing of sanctions.

The Nobel laureate, who spent most of the past 22 years locked up by the generals, is widely expected to win a seat in a parliament dominated by the military and its political allies in by-elections to be held on Sunday.

Victory for the former political prisoner would cap a remarkable transformation for the 66-year-old icon of the pro-democracy movement.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will contest 44 of the 45 seats available in Sunday’s vote, alongside the army-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party and other opposition parties.

But the world’s eyes will be on the dusty constituency of Kawhmu near Yangon where the daughter of Burma’s independence hero General Aung San is standing for a seat in parliament for the first time.

While the number of seats at stake is not enough to threaten the ruling party’s overwhelming majority in parliament, a win would give Suu Kyi a chance to influence the legislative process for the first time.

“Her transformation in recent months is striking,” said Renaud Egreteau, a Burma expert at the University of Hong Kong.

“She is in the full spotlight today and is savoring it with ceaseless campaigning and meetings — at the cost of her health.”

Suu Kyi is showing signs of strain. She cancelled campaigning this week after she fell ill and was put on a drip following a gruelling schedule of rallies and speeches across the country.

Huge crowds of supporters have turned out to see her on the campaign trail, and meeting their high expectations for change in the impoverished country after years of repression and isolation will be no easy task.

“We think she can make everything happen, more than anyone else,” said NLD supporter Ashin Munida who attended a recent rally.

“We have big expectations of her,” he said.

After almost half a century of iron-fisted military rule, the junta in March last year handed power to a new government led by President Thein Sein, one of a clutch of former generals who shed their uniforms to contest a 2010 election.

That vote, won by the military’s political proxies, was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and the exclusion of Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of house arrest shortly afterwards.

Since then, however, the reform-minded regime has released hundreds of political prisoners and held a dialogue with Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide election victory in 1990 but was never allowed to take office.

In the run up to this Sunday’s by-elections, the NLD complained about apparent irregularities, notably the appearance of the names of some dead people on the electoral roll.

Thein Sein acknowledged in a recent speech that there had been “unnecessary errors” in ballot lists, but said that the authorities were trying to ensure the by-elections will be “free and fair.”

“Winners and losers will emerge in the by-elections as per usual. We all need to work together to ensure that the outcome is accepted by all the people,” he said.

Unlike in 2010, the government has invited foreign observers and journalists to witness a vote seen as a major test of its reform credentials.

The European Union, United States and other Western nations this year started easing some sanctions on Myanmar in recognition of its recent positive moves towards political reform after decades of direct military rule.

While a successful vote could encourage further steps by the West, concerns remain about the continued existence of political prisoners and alleged rights abuses by the military, particularly in ethnic conflict zones.

Nevertheless, experts believe the regime wants the pro-democracy leader to win a place in parliament to burnish its reform credentials.

“Of course they need Aung San Suu Kyi to get legitimacy. The military government is strong in every way but in terms of legitimacy they are very weak,” said Toe Zaw Latt, Thailand bureau chief of the Democratic Voice of Burma, an Oslo-based broadcaster that was banned under the junta.

“It is a critical moment for the government about their sincerity and their intention to reform,” he said.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal raped a young woman allegation case dismissed

29.03.2012

A Spanish court on Wednesday dismissed an allegation that one of the world's richest men, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, raped a young woman on a yacht on the island of Ibiza in 2008.

In its ruling, the Spanish court in Palma de Mallorca found there wasn't sufficient evidence to press charges.

The prince has long maintained that he was innocent, that he hasn't been in Ibiza in more than a decade and that others have tried to impersonate him.

The prince's legal team released a statement Wednesday saying the ruling vindicates the prince, but said the legal matter has nevertheless resulted in "a grave injustice" to him.

"This news confirms what this office has been demonstrating since the court took up the case: that the alleged accusations against HRH Prince Alwaleed were false and baseless as his royal highness wasn't in Spain at that time, but in France, with his wife, children, grandchildren and accompanied by dozens of witnesses as proof that was provided by the office of the prince at the time," the legal team's statement said.

"This issue has resulted in a grave injustice against HRH Prince Alwaleed. Our client has commissioned this office to consider ways to protect other innocent people who have to face this kind of false allegations and for those to face liability for their actions," the statement said.

"These allegations are completely and utterly false," said the statement from his investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company. "The alleged encounter simply never happened."

The two-hour, closed-door hearing included the woman, another one of her lawyers, the prosecutor and the magistrate in charge of the investigation.

In a December statement, the prince's lawyer in Madrid said the prince was with his family in France in August 2008 on a visit that was well-documented by his passport, cell phone records and hotel receipts, as well as photographs, video and eyewitness accounts.

Kuwait arrests man for insulting the Prophet Mohammad via his Twitter

29.03.2012

Kuwaiti authorities arrested a man late on Tuesday for insulting the Prophet Mohammad via his Twitter account, the Interior Ministry said, in a rare case of alleged blasphemy in the Gulf Arab state using social media.

Blasphemy is illegal in Kuwait under the 1961 press and publications law, but it is not punishable by death as in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where the case of a columnist facing similar accusations has drawn international attention. The man, whose name was not disclosed, defamed the Islamic faith and slandered the Prophet Mohammad, his companions and his wife, the ministry said in a statement issued on state-run news agency KUNA.

He is being interrogated ahead of court proceedings. The ministry "regretted the abusing of social networks by some individuals to offend basic Islamic and spiritual values, vowing to show zero tolerance in combating such serious offences," it said in the statement.

In September a Kuwaiti court convicted a man for insulting Gulf rulers and posting inflammatory sectarian comments on social media, but he was released immediately because of time already served while awaiting trial, according to a human rights activist.

Twitter is very popular in Kuwait, with many politicians, journalists and other public figures using the micro-blogging site to debate current events and share gossip. Popular figures can have hundreds of thousands of followers.

Kuwaiti media carried comments from the man denying the accusations. "I will never attack the Holy Prophet," he was reported as saying and added that someone must have hacked his account to post the comments. His remarks, carried by several of Kuwait's main newspapers, were not immediately verifiable.

Let the ‘smart’ join, Dr Mahathir urges Umno

29.03.2012

Umno must not continue blocking the entry of professionals and academics into the party as this has led to the current lack of talented leaders, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today

“For decades, Umno has ‘not allowed’ the smart ones to join the party. That is why many doctors have joined PAS,” the former prime minister was quoted as saying by Bernama Online.

“This ultimately makes it difficult for Umno to find suitable candidates in ensuring victory in the elections,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also urged the party to consider fielding outsiders in the coming general election, saying it should abandon the practice of only picking divisional leaders to contest.

“We should accept good candidates, whether they are Umno members or not,” he said.

Acknowledging that the reluctance to admit the professional class had been prevalent even during his time, the country’s longest-serving prime minister told the party it could no longer afford to restrict membership to the usual quality of entrants.

“We want talented and qualified people, then only we can form a capable government,” he said.

He then reminded Umno that the general election would be won primarily on the support of the general populace, the overwhelming majority of which are non-members.

Sri Lankan President : No one has to tell us what to do

29.03.2012

Sri Lanka is ready to walk an extra mile to establish permanent peace in the country through reconciliation and does not need any external guidance, President MahindaRajapaksa said on Wednesday.

Addressing the Expo 2012 here,Rajapaksa said, "Sri Lanka is in the midst of peace won at great sacrifice. We are progressing on the path of peace and reconciliation. Our government is committed to walk that extra mile to establish permanent peace through reconciliation.

"That is our commitment to our people and no one has to tell us what to do," he said in a veiled reference to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution adopted last week that censured Sri Lanka on its human rights record during three-decade-long civil war.

The resolution asked Sri Lanka to work towards expeditious implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations.

Sri Lanka dubbed the resolution as devious Western nation action to undermine the island at the behest of the pro-LTTE diaspora.

The government has publicly vowed to ignore the resolution.

UN Says More Than 9,000 Dead In Syria Unrest

29.03.2012

United Nations on Tuesday increased its death toll for the Syria unrest to more than 9,000.
Robert Serry, a UN Middle East peace envoy, told the Security Council there were "credible" estimates that the number of dead was now more than 9,000.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday toured the former rebel stronghold of Baba Amr in Homs, assuring residents that the battered neighbourhood would be rebuilt and that normal life would resume.
"Baba Amr will be much better than before," Assad told dozens of residents as he surveyed the destruction wrought on the neighbourhood in a month-long assault by regime forces.
The brief visit, which was aired on state television, marked a rare public appearance by the embattled head of state who is in the throes of an unprecedented revolt against his regime.
Assad, standing under a light drizzle, is seen during his tour discussing reconstruction efforts with local officials and saying that a plan needed to be drawn up to ensure residents can return home.
"We have to come up with a schedule in order to inform people when they can return to normal life," he is overheard saying while standing in front of a bombed-out building.
Many residents, some weeping, cheered him on and one woman hugged and kissed him.
Baba Amr was overrun by regime forces on March 1 following a month-long relentless assault to root out rebels.
Hundreds of people, many of them civilians, were killed in the fighting that left much of the neighbourhood in ruins, according to rights groups.
Assad on Tuesday appeared to justify the brutal crackdown on Baba Amr, telling residents that the state had no other choice but to use force to restore peace, the state news agency SANA reported.
"The state did not fail in its duty to protect its citizens," SANA quoted him as saying.
"The state gave those who had strayed from the right path every chance... to surrender their weapons but they rejected them and escalated their terrorism.
"So we had to act to bring back peace and security and to impose the law," he added.
Assad also hailed the "sacrifices" made by security forces in order to protect the country.
The central city of Homs has come to symbolise the one-year uprising against Assad's regime. Although Baba Amr is now under government control, clashes have been ongoing in other neighbourhoods of the city.
Monitors say nearly 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed across Syria in the revolt that broke out in March last year.

Obama Worried Over Safety Of Pakistan's Nukes

29.03.2012

US president Barack Obama on Tuesday voiced concern over safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, saying the world cannot allow nonstate actors and terrorists to get their hands on the nuclear weapons and end up destroying cities.
"We can't afford to have non-state actors and terrorists to get their hands on nuclear weapons that would end up destroying our cities or harming our citizens ," Obama told reporters alongside Pakistani prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani before the two leaders held private talks on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit here.
The West is concerned over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons as it remains vulnerable because the atomic facilities are located in areas where "Taliban and al-Qaida are more than capable of launching terrorist attacks" .
In their first meeting since the killing of Osama bin Laden in last May, the two leaders tried to rescue a troubled anti-terror alliance which has been full of mistrust and recriminations in recent times.
Ties plunged to an all time low in November when a Nato air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, prompting Islamabad to curtail ties with the US and launch a parliamentary debate on new terms of engagement.
"There have been times in the last several months where those relations have experienced strains," Obama said.
Obama said it was important for the both countries to have candid and open talks.
Obama said he expects Pakistan's review of bilateral ties will result in a "balanced approach that respects Pakistan's sovereignty but also respects our concerns with respect to our national security and needs to battle terrorists who have targeted us in the past".

Malaysia: BN and Pakatan conclude PSC meeting in disagreement

29.03.2012

Parliament’s select committee (PSC) for electoral reforms concluded its final meeting today with members across the political divide deadlocked on key issues like the alleged manipulation of the electoral roll.

After a five-hour long meeting, committee members finally emerged with a 22-point report, about seven of which they had to “agree to disagree” upon.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one PSC member told reporters that the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) members in the committee had pressed for the inclusion of a “minority report” to be tabled along with the panel’s final report next Monday.

But this was rejected, according to the source.

The source revealed that although most of the issues presented in the report received unanimous support from both PR and Barisan Nasional (BN) members, the points that saw disagreement were “key reform issues” that civil society groups and the opposition have been pushing for.

“The number (of points disagreed on) is smaller than those we agreed but those issues are fundamental... cleaning the electoral roll, postal votes for media,” the source said.

The source pointed out that PR had wanted to scrap the postal voting system and allow army and police personnel to cast ballots via “advanced voting” instead.

But instead, added the source, it was recommended that postal voting be expanded to include media personnel.

“What is the definition of media? It could be bloggers who are friendly to BN’s side,” the source said.

Additionally, said the source, the Election Commission (EC) had also increased its number of officers on duty during polling day from 140,000 to 240,000, all of whom would be allowed to vote via post.

The source also repeated frustrations repeatedly voiced by PR over the EC’s alleged lack of commitment to eliminate discrepancies from the electoral roll, such as the existence of voters sharing similar MyKad numbers.

“So we wanted to put a minority report so we can address these issues... let us debate it in Parliament.

“But it was rejected. We are disappointed because a majority of members, who are from BN or independent, rejected it, even though the minority report is not against any provisions in meeting rules,” said the source.

However, the source said the committee agreed to record PR’s objections in the early portion of the report.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the meeting, PSC chairman Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili admitted that several points in the report were disagreed on and members had to “agree to disagree”.

“I admit that in terms of the final report, there were matters we agreed on unanimously and there were issues we agreed to disagree,” he said.

In total, the PSC, formed last year following strong objections to the country’s election process, held 14 meetings, six public hearings, perused several memorandums and organised one working trip abroad to study other election systems during its five-month-25-day tenure.

Its final report will be tabled in Parliament next Monday and is expected to be debated on the following day.

Thousands of people thronged the streets of the capital last July 9 for Bersih 2.0’s rally for free and fair elections despite the widespread clampdown by the Najib administration before the tumultuous event was held.